Acoustic-Electric Guitar

Overview

An acoustic-electric guitar is a steel-string or nylon-string acoustic guitar fitted with built-in electronic components, typically a piezoelectric pickup under the saddle, an internal microphone, or a magnetic soundhole pickup, sometimes combined. A small preamp built into the side of the body lets the player shape and balance the signal before it reaches an amplifier or mixing console.

Origin & History

Players began experimenting with amplifying acoustic guitars almost as soon as electric amplification arrived in the 1930s. Modern factory-built acoustic-electrics, with under-saddle piezo pickups and side-mounted preamps, became widespread from the 1970s onward as live music venues grew larger and microphones alone proved difficult to manage on stage. Brands such as Ovation, Takamine, and Taylor were influential in popularising the format.

How It’s Played

Played acoustically, the instrument behaves like any standard acoustic guitar: it can be strummed, fingerpicked, or used for fingerstyle and flatpicking styles. When plugged in, the player can balance treble, bass, and overall volume from the side-mounted preamp. Many acoustic-electrics include a built-in tuner. The amplified signal works well with reverb, light compression, and gentle EQ for live performance.

Cultural Significance

The acoustic-electric guitar is the standard tool of singer-songwriters, worship musicians, and acoustic-act performers in venues where a microphone alone would be impractical. By making it easy to play an acoustic on a loud stage without losing the instrument’s natural warmth, it has shaped the sound of contemporary folk, country, pop, and Latin styles.

Related Instruments

• Guitar – the underlying acoustic instrument
• Semi-acoustic guitar – a hollow electric, very different in role
• Cigar box guitar – a minimalist folk relative
• Cuatro – a Latin-American small guitar relative
• Tiple – a small high-tuned guitar from the Andes

Frequently Asked Questions

How is an acoustic-electric guitar different from an electric guitar?
An acoustic-electric is fundamentally a hollow acoustic guitar that can be amplified. An electric guitar is built around solid or semi-hollow construction designed to be played through an amplifier.

Does an acoustic-electric sound the same as a microphoned acoustic?
Not exactly. Piezo pickups capture string and bridge vibration directly, which can sound brighter or more direct than a microphone, especially at high stage volumes; many players blend a pickup with a microphone for a more natural tone.

Image: photograph by Claude-Étienne Armingaud, CC BY-SA 3.0 (Wikimedia Commons).